Tendulkar and Dhoni doubtful starters for Test

[Chandan]

danra, You want Tendulkar to be a broken God soon? :D

It doesn't matter what we want. But at least the player should be much aware of the challenges aware. Why did Sachin continue playing in those ODIs, despite hurting his knee at Chandigarh vs Australia? I hope he knows his priorities and doesn't shorten his career by playing in the meaningless ODIs. But the team management is certainly not doing justice to the young vice captain if the following news is true: India may be forced to field injured Dhoni Bangalore (PTI): India may be forced to field an injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni if Sachin Tendulkar is ruled out of the third and final cricket Test against Pakistan who have also been hit by injuries to some of their key players. The Indian camp was keen to rest Dhoni, still recovering from a finger injury, but captain Anil Kumble on Friday indicated that the wicket-keeper batsman could be drafted in the playing eleven after Tendulkar aggravated his knee problem. "It's not that Dhoni cannot play. He has been playing on strapping. We have a long season ahead and there is no break. We wanted to rest him but because of Sachin's injury, we will have to rethink. It depends on Sachin's fitness," Kumble said in the pre-match press conference. "Gautam Gambhir is coming as back up for Sachin," Kumble added. The 37-year-old captain admitted that India would go into the third Test with "an inexperienced pace attack" but said it would give youngsters a chance to excel. "Yes, it's inexperienced pace attack. But it's a nice opportunity for them to excel," he said. "Irfan (Pathan) has had success in Test cricket while the other two boys have played Test cricket. It's a chance for them to seal their place," he said referring to VRV Singh and Ishant Sharma. -------------------------------- This way, Dhoni will certainly break down in the middle of the tour Down-Under.

[SachDan]

danra, You want Tendulkar to be a broken God soon? :D

I would be the last person wishing for a broken God, but..Sachin should play infront of the massive crowd at SCG,MCG and AO in ODI's.

[Shehezaada]

I think Tendulkar is gonna take one for the team here and play inspite of being injured

[coffee_rules]

Gone is the test Gone is the series Gone is the weekend.

[chamatkar]

Damn.. super selector!! This is going to be messy ...

[Bumper]

Sheesh, Tendulkar is in good form. This is one test, i really want him to play, given that our side is already depleted and the series hangs in the balance. Zaheer, Munaf, Dhoni, SRT out => the best we can hope for is a draw

[Dravid]

o crap shave the freaking grass :mad: a dude said, it hasnt rained in bangalore in last 16 hours..but still gloomy conditions.. grass must go

[Predator_05]

Excellent. Now we can finally see whether the reserves are capable of making an impact on the big stage or not. These injuries are a blessing in disguise, providing the team an opportunity to test their bench strength. Playing Tendulkar and Dhoni would be pointless - why risk playing them when India have a tour of Australia coming up ? India will need both of them to be fully fit for that tour.

[Chandan]

Excellent. Now we can finally see whether the reserves are capable of making an impact on the big stage or not. These injuries are a blessing in disguise' date=' providing the team an opportunity to test their bench strength. [b']Playing Tendulkar and Dhoni would be pointless - why risk playing them when India have a tour of Australia coming up ? India will need both of them to be fully fit for that tour.

This is what I think. What is the harm in letting Gambhir open and see if he can score big against Shoaib and co or not? And then Yuvraj has been banging the doors since ages. Let him bat at #6 and Karthik at #7. Bowlers HAVE to be changed. I just don't find any sense in playing those who are not 100% fit with the toughest series overseas coming up! Let them recover fully for that series and meanwhile the bench will be tested too.

[Predator_05]

I am also hoping to see a good, sporting pitch which provides ample assistance to the seamers. Pakistan will be favorites in that situation since they have Shoaib Akhtar but at least we will have a competitive match.

[DesiChap]

Sachin, Dhoni to be rested for Bangalore Test - Comebacks for Yuvraj, Gambhir, Pathan and Ishant

Bangalore: Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni will (as of Friday night) be rested in the third and final Test against Pakistan, which begins here on Saturday. That Dhoni could be given a break was reported in these columns on Thursday itself. Sachin’s is the new development. “I hurt my right knee batting during the Kanpur ODI (last month) and it got aggravated while fielding in Calcutta,†Sachin told The Telegraph. The maestro was given a cortisone shot on Thursday, but the selectors and the team management have decided to play it safe. The tour of Australia, after all, is days away. Dhoni has two problems — the left ankle and the webbing of his left hand. According to physio John Gloster, he requires a week’s rest. Clearly, it’s another double blow for Team India, following the non-availability of Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel, both of whom had to be left out of the squad for the concluding IndianOil Cup face-off. The hosts are ahead 1-0, but the injuries are a cause for much concern. The question, however, is: Just how concerned is the Board? Given its track record, one wouldn’t be surprised if the Board still hasn’t woken up to the reality of such poor scheduling. The final Test is (again, as of Friday night) going to see four comebacks. Gautam Gambhir, whose last appearance at this level was exactly two years ago, will open with Wasim Jaffer. Then, Yuvraj Singh is going to make the XI for the first time since July 2006, while Irfan Pathan’s last Test was a month before Yuvraj’s. Ishant Sharma played in May this year. Dinesh Karthik, one learns, will bat at No. 7. The rather extraordinary turn of events has given him the chance to make amends for flopping in the first two Tests. It couldn’t be confirmed, but Pakistan may drop Mohammed Sami and play either Rao Iftikhar Anjum or Yasir Arafat. Both have come as replacements. The visitors’ captaincy issue has been settled for now, but one can never tell what’s brewing in their camp. With Pakistan having won the last two Tests in Bangalore, Younis Khan and his men won’t have to dig deep for inspiration. Not that anything comes on a platter at this level, but still. Inclement weather forced the teams to train indoors — at the National Cricket Academy, where Dav Whatmore (who’d been in the running to coach India and Pakistan) is the director — and the forecast isn’t good for Day I either. So, it’s to be seen whether Saturday actually sees some cricket. TEAMS India (expected): Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma. Pakistan (from): Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousuf, Misbah-ul Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanveer, Shoaib Akhtar, Danish Kaneria, Mohammed Sami/ Rao Iftikhar Anjum/Yasir Arafat. Umpires: Simon Taufel, Rudi Koertzen. TV: G.A. Pratapkumar. Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle. Scheduled start: 9.30 am.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071208/asp/sports/story_8644177.asp

[King]

Good chance for one of Yuvi or Gambhir to secure a spot in test cricket. This is a golden opportunity for Yuvi as he'll most probably end up playing at no.4 If he can come up with a reasonable knock it'll be hard to drop him in the next game. What good turn around of events that is going to work in favour of Gambhir too. If he can score big here he can nudge Karthik out of the opener's slot. Even Pathan can make a fantastic comeback both with bat and ball. I guess the opportunities have come around at the right time for these blokes what with the selection to Aussie tour being put on hold for now.

[fineleg]

This report says Ishant Sharma will play. I think that is speculation. Playing 11 will be decided in the morning. So, we'll see. IMO - as we can see in the other thread between IS and VRV not much difference anyway.

[DesiChap]

Ravi I think Yuvi will bat #6 Laxman might move to #4

[guju24]

good chanve for yuvi, gambhir and ishant or vrv who ever get picked...these three just have to aim for a good performance...

[fineleg]

o crap shave the freaking grass :mad: a dude said, it hasnt rained in bangalore in last 16 hours..but still gloomy conditions.. grass must go

Totally...I'm hoping that what MM said will come true (shaving off the grass, and dusty brown pitch)...if the curator hasn't done it already, get on with it Mr. Raju -- SHAVE THE GRASS, and dry the pitch with a blower if you have to. If Tendu and MSD are not batting, we gotta do all we can to ensure we win the series. We cannot be guaranteed that YS will play well in Tests. He has been Yuseless in Tests - that may change for the good, but we cannot bank on it.

[guju24]

Totally...I'm hoping that what MM said will come true (shaving off the grass, and dusty brown pitch)...if the curator hasn't done it already, get on with it Mr. Raju -- SHAVE THE GRASS, and dry the pitch with a blower if you have to. If Tendu and MSD are not batting, we gotta do all we can to ensure we win the series. We cannot be guaranteed that YS will play well in Tests. He has been Yuseless in Tests - that may change for the good, but we cannot bank on it.

YS has good record against pakistan...plus dont worry guys that we going to loose...rain will help us out...

[DesiChap]

No need to depend on rain. I do not want rain to spoil this one. We are winning this game and series

[jf1gp_1]

and now that i look at the score card we didnt really miss either of them

[King]

Good chance for one of Yuvi or Gambhir to secure a spot in test cricket. This is a golden opportunity for Yuvi as he'll most probably end up playing at no.4 If he can come up with a reasonable knock it'll be hard to drop him in the next game. What good turn around of events that is going to work in favour of Gambhir too. If he can score big here he can nudge Karthik out of the opener's slot. Even Pathan can make a fantastic comeback both with bat and ball. I guess the opportunities have come around at the right time for these blokes what with the selection to Aussie tour being put on hold for now.

I repeat this and the ones that end up successful in this test match will have a terrific chance to claim a permanent place in the test side. Yuvraj has shown it already he has it in him to succeed at test level. It's now up to Karthik, Pathan and even Ishant Sharma to show if they have enough in the kitty to command a place in the side. There is nothing better than see the bench warmers come in and fill in for top players. Gambhir let go a golden opportunity but lest he got out to a good ball.